After five days filled with costumes, balloons, partyware and The Greatest Showman soundtrack, the dust has now settled on Spring Fair 2019. The show was widely hailed as a success (take a look at the PartyWorldwide photo gallery to see some of the fun and games that took place) so we asked some of The Party Show exhibitors to share their thoughts on this year’s show.
Fran Hales, Bristol Novelty:
“We had a very successful show with lots of praise for the new stand and the new direction we are taking – especially our fabulous new products which were showcased for the first time at the Fair. Our new packaging was a big hit, as was the wig wall, our Halloween 2019 collection and the Rubie’s lines we have taken on such as the Opus costume range and Fun Flatables. We are very proud of the work we have done and the impact it had at the show.”
Tracey Cooper, Neviti:
“Who would have thought, a show that got busier towards the end! Possibly social media had an effect and brought people out. Our new ranges were well-received but customer confidence in the market is possibly at it’s lowest. Retailers now have so much choice but no confidence to buy. Giving them a point of difference will help. Our new minimalist retail packaging with environmentally friendly recyclable headers were much talked about. The other hot topic of course was Brexit! Overall it was a good show with lots of regulars but nothing to set the world alight. I’m waiting to see the new hall layout in full before committing to the 2020 fair.”
Mark Brett, Boland Party:
“Howdy pardner! and Don’t buy from cowboys! were just some of the pleasantries we received at this year’s NEC, although none of these were altogether surprising, considering the Wild West stand theme. But they all helped to make this year’s show a good one for Boland. We had a good flow of existing and potentially new customers, with the exception of Monday which for some bizarre reason was very flat. Visitor numbers to our stand were quite a lot up on last year and that was a pretty reasonable show. We had a lot of new themed product which was extremely well-received.”
Michele Gaudelli, Club Green:
“We were really pleased with the Spring Fair this year. Our stand was buzzing most of the time which is testament to the launch of our new trend-led party brand Hootyballoo! Everyone loved our new brand and unique product ranges and we have gained lots of new customers as a result of exhibiting at the show. We feel that quality of the visitors was better than previous years.”
Sergio Battaner, Palmer Agencies:
“The reception to our products was much better than we could have anticipated. Once again, the trade rewards those of us who make an effort to bring new lines and successful concepts to market. Our new costumes and masks were a tremendous success and our central location made us the star of the show. Many customers and new leads came straight to our stand after the catwalk shows to ask about what they had seen, so we would like to thank the models and dancers for their dedication and enthusiasm. It was great to see our costumes so well portrayed.”
Charlotte Terry, Amscan:
“The launch of the new Clearz balloons was a definite highlight of the show for us. The reaction was incredibly positive and we are so excited to see what customers can achieve with them. Our new company branding was also very well-received with many customers commenting on how refreshing it was to see such a contemporary stand. It was the perfect opportunity to showcase a snapshot of our new ranges for 2019 across the party, balloon and costume categories in an eye-catching way. Our balloon ceiling which featured our new ombre colour scheme also received huge interest. With a real mix of different balloon formats it was a great Instagram opportunity!”
